Terravita Real Estate

Terravita Market 11/08 - 4/09


Below Are Previous Market Updates
 

 

 

 

April 3rd, 2009 Terravita Market Update

 

Month            Average Price per foot

 

December   2008

$261

January       2009

$232

February      2009

 $305

 March           2009

 $231

 

Aaaaahhh.  That’s more like it.  January and February were a bit slow, but Terravita had 11 homes sell (go under contract) in March, reducing the inventory from 90 last month to 78 this morning! That's the direction we like to see the market moving.  

Of course much like the overall Maricopa County market, while sales were up, prices were down due to high inventory levels.  That is a trend that is likely to continue this month, but I believe April will have a nice surprise as we should close our first home over a million dollars!

Here are the March 2009 Terravita Real Estate Market’s statistics:

2

Closings for an Average of $231 per foot

30

Average days on the market

11

Homes under contract *

37

Price Reductions

78

Active Listings

 

March 2nd, 2009 Terravita Market Update

Month            Average Price per foot 

 

December 2008

 $261

January    2009

 $232

February 2009

 $305

 

If there is any truth in the adage that says if March comes in like a lamb it goes out like a lion, look for some really bad weather at the end of this month. Our weather just doesn’t get any better than this - 80 degrees! Are you kidding me? (If you are reading this in Boston, Minneapolis or Alberta – You need to get here. Jeesh!)

Have you noticed there seems to be a shortage of good financial news lately? Well not in Terravita. Terravita’s average sales price soared back up to $305 per foot last month from just $232 a foot in January! How is that for good news?

Now, get out there and enjoy this great weather and be happy!

Here are the February 2009 Terravita Real Estate Market’s statistics:

 

1

Closings for an Average of $305 per foot

192

Average days on the market

4

Homes under contract *

24

Price Reductions

90

Active Listings

* The term "Homes under contract" is to say that these listings

February 2nd, 2009 Terravita Market Update
Month Per Foot  Average Price 
December 2008
 $261
January 2009
$232
 

 

SUPER SEASON 2009 IS HERE!!

Regardless of outcome, the Cards did a great job and the Super Bowl is over. That means our Super Season has just kicked off. And for buyers it really is going to be a Super Season because the selection is fantastic. While they are not all on the market yet, we have about 85 homes available from $1.2 million all the way down to $319,000. Later this week I will send you info on this year's best listings.

A PAUSE FOR GOOD NEWS . . .

January was not a stellar month for our nation’s economy or for closings in Terravita, but our world became enriched beyond measure when on the 23rd at 7:54 and 7:55 our family was blessed with these two beautiful twins:

 
hand hold b&w.JPG
 

Jackson Bauer and Olivia Grace. Amazing.

 

BACK TO IT . . .

Here are the January 2009 Terravita Real Estate Market’s statistics:

 

3

Closings for an Average of $261 per foot

157 

Average days on the market

3 

Homes under contract *

20 

Price Reductions

79 

Active Listings

* The term "Homes under contract" is to say that these listings "sold" but they have not necessarily closed escrow. Most are still in various stages of the inspection process.

January 5th, 2008 Terravita Market Update

Month Average Price per foot

December

$261

 

Happy New Year everybody!! I hope you all had a happy, safe holiday.

Sorry this is late, but we are busy getting ready for Terravita Super Season 2009. (By the way, if you know anyone getting ready to list their home, we are taking photos this week and next for the Spring Listing Magazine.)

The Terravita Real Estate Market had a very good month with 4 homes going under contract and 3 homes closing escrow with an average price per foot of $261. I think that is amazingly good given that we are in the midst of the worst economic debacle of my lifetime.

Here are the December 2008 Terravita Real Estate Market’s statistics:

 

3

Closings for an Average of $261 per foot

85

Average days on the market

4

Homes under contract *

13

Price Reductions

57

Active Listings

 

 

December 4th, 2008 Terravita Market Update   
Month       Average Price per foot                  

 January  

$263

 February

 $274

 March

 $264

 April

 $234

 May

 $240

 June

 $249

July

 $251

August

$271

September

$237

October

$272

November                           $230

  

 

As seems to be the case a lot lately, the Terravita Real Estate Market had a mixed month with both good and bad news. On the not so good side – the average price per foot dropped fairly significantly from the October numbers. The drop was dramatic due mainly to one foreclosure which sold at $180 per foot, and the fact that we only had 3 closings.  (So few closings just isn’t enough to dilute the effects of the foreclosure on the overall average, so the data is skewed downward a bit. ) 

 

 

On the good side of the ledger, we had our highest closing ever at $995,000 and 6 homes went under contract. (4 of those sold through TerravitaRealEstate.com so thanks very much again to you ALL !) Six homes going under contract in November wouldn’t normally be large news.  But when it happens within 60 days of the worst financial news our country has seen in my lifetime, and in the middle of an unprecedented credit crunch – I’d call it amazing!!!

 

  

Here are the November 2008 Terravita Real Estate Market’s statistics:     

 

3 

Closing for an Average of $272  per foot

128

Average days on the market

6 

Homes under contract *

9 

Price Reductions

60 

Active Listings

 

 November 28, 2008 Terravita Market Update

 

 

TERRAVITA ANNIVERSARY

 

It was 15 years ago this morning that the first home was sold in Terravita. It was such a nuthouse that day that there are still arguments raging over who sold and who bought the first home, but it was certainly that day.

1993 was a time with some surprising similarities to right now. Like 2008,  the date of the day after Thanksgiving that year happened to be the 28th, and both years were unusually wet years with record precipitation levels. While the rain in 1993 was benificial in many ways, it  had set the Terravita land development back at least a month.  But the larger similarity was that the country was just climbing out of the S&L debacle of the late 1980’s.  The RTC had been selling thousands of foreclosed properties, and folks were just beginning to wonder if it was time to buy real estate yet. The land Del Webb bought for Terravita was one of those RTC properties.

I think this is Bramble Berry Road in section E

When we opened for sales that morning all there was to see was a crummy little trailer with four offices sitting on the southeast corner of what is Scottsdale Road and what became Terravita Way. The roads in that particular section were bladed and the lots were formed, but that was it.

The sales people were; Dick Buckley, Ron Cromwell, Roland Malka, Dwayne Harmon, Kenda Yonkers, and Darlene Placone and me.  If you wanted to find a homesite that day you needed one of us, or at least a truck because it was pretty rugged out on the property.  However you figured out which lot you wanted, you really needed to make two selections, because there was a good chance that the one you liked would be gone by the time you got back to the trailer.  

While it was exciting, it was also a frustrating process for many, and it was a bit of a leap of faith.  There was no clubhouse, no golf course, no tennis courts, no stores, or any of the amenities that we enjoy now.  The model homes selections were really just floorplans because the actual model homes were only at the frame stage.  If you wanted to take a tour of those models you had to have a salesperson with you, and a hard hat. And the sales people were always busy. 

Imagine what it was like for a buyer. With virtually nothing to look at you had to quickly decide:

1. Do I want to live here (And is the housing crisis over)

2. Which series of homes do I want to live in (Series 1,2,3, or 4)

3. Which floorplan in that series do I want

4. Where that series of homes was being built

5. Which lots were still available in that series

 

Choosing a lot wasn’t easy at that point. Every lot had amazing views of lush desert and the mountains beyond because there was nothing built yet to block your views! You had to guess what the views would be like when everything else was completed.  And what if you couldn’t find a lot in the series home you liked? You had to start the process all over again in another series!

But in the end we all survived, and what Del Webb scheduled as a 6 to 10 year project was sold out in 3 1/2 years. It actually would have been much quicker, but the land development guys could never catch up.  Ultimately Terravita became the most successful selling community in the United States.  There were six campouts where folks camped in the parking lot of what is now the Desert Pavilion (one of them for 10 days!) , so that they could choose the homesite they wanted in Terravita.

 

 

Clubhouse later that year (About June I think)

 

The 10th hole just before they installed the greens 

As you might imagine over the years I have had many conversations with the folks that had the courage to brave all the difficulties and bought at that time. Everyone involved was surprised they put up with all the inconveniences at the time. But every single one of us agrees that it was one of the best decisions we ever made, and that we were all privileged and blessed to have been a part of it. Terravita was and still is today the best community in Scottsdale and maybe anywhere.  

 

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Scott Gaertner